


Robert & Rosalind are Alive

by Doombly



Category: BioShock Infinite
Genre: F/M, Fluffy Romance, Lutecest, prompts from tumblr
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-05
Updated: 2015-06-21
Packaged: 2018-04-03 01:49:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 5,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4081939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doombly/pseuds/Doombly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of interconnected short stories detailing the Luteces' lives following the events of Robert & Rosalind are Dead. Many of these were inspired by prompts given on tumblr, which are credited in the authors' notes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Keepsakes

**Author's Note:**

> This prompt came from poster nyxnotnicks and was "Robert and Rosalind must choose what they take with them to their new lives after becoming human again."

Robert came to on the floor of Lutece Labs, only a few feet away from the still sparking Lutece Device. He had expected to feel something; pain, confusion, residual soreness, but no. For all intents and purposes it felt like nothing more than waking up from a long nap had occurred.

He forced himself up to his hands and knees, then paused to see the doors. Nothing. Just the world he was in now. Robert grinned. They'd done it, they were mortal again.

"Rosalind?" He called out.

"What, brother?" She answered back from the other side of the room, in a similar state of awakening.

"We did it!" Robert clambered to his feet, then helped Rosalind up.

"I'm quite aware of that." Rosalind looked around the lab room. Nothing appeared to have been stolen. They had most likely appeared mere hours after their deaths, just as Elizabeth had in Rapture. "Now we'll need to get the device functional again and gather any keepsakes. I cannot speak for you, but I've had enough of Columbia for any number of lifetimes."

Robert went over the Lutece device and inspected a panel to the side. He scratched his chin in thought while examining the exposed wires. "It looks like all Fink did was switch two of the power voltage wires around. It's as if he was barely trying."

"That'll make fixing the device all the easier," Rosalind commented. "I'll get it working again while you gather any supplies we'll need, and any keepsakes you wish to bring."

Robert nodded and walked off towards their former bedroom. It appeared that neither Fink nor his men had been upstairs yet, likely waiting until news of the Luteces' "death" was made official to prevent suspicion. This was exactly the break the twins needed. He entered the bedroom and approached their bed. Robert got on his knees to reach underneath the bed.

He withdrew a medium sized, rectangular box. Inside were the Luteces' life savings, it was filled to the brim with silver eagles. The silver crash of 1893 meant they wouldn't be worth their equivalent in U.S. dollars, but hopefully it would be enough to get them situated until they could find suitable employment. Robert flipped the box's lid open to ensure the silver eagles had not been taken, thankfully they were all accounted for.

The Luteces would have to travel light; there was no telling if they would even be able to secure a home on the other side of the tear. Robert planned to try and repossess his former house, but there was no way of knowing if that would be possible. No way of knowing now that he and Rosalind were no longer omnipotent, at least.

Dwelling on the multiverse brought a sharp pang to Robert's left temple. He clenched his teeth and tried to empty his mind of all thoughts. Already the knowledge they acquired was slipping away. The mysteries of universe really were becoming mysteries once again. To help get his mind off the increasingly muddled knowledge of the universe, Robert began searching for any keepsakes.

He was immediately drawn to a glass container on the nightstand. Floating inside was a miniature replica of Columbia, suspended within the empty space beneath the glass by a Lutece particle. These were fairly common as knick knacks and memorabilia within Columbia, but usually contained only one building. This, given to the Luteces at the same time as their statue was erected, was the only one to contain a replica of the entire city. Robert knew immediately he couldn't part with it.

"Brother, the device appears to be operational now," Rosalind called up through the hole in the floor. "Could you locate the appropriate tear while I gather some items of my own?" Robert leaned out over the hole and nodded to Rosalind. He tucked the container under one arm and held the money box with his other, then headed back downstairs.

He passed Rosalind on the stairs and smiled at her. The excitement was palpable between them and what would soon transpire. Rosalind had noticed the Columbia replica Robert was carrying and approved. They couldn't bring much, there was no guarantee they would be able to store anything, so Rosalind would have to think carefully on what she would take.

Her mind instantly came to a book kept within the bedroom's desk. It was a journal which Rosalind had used for many purposes over the years. Schematics for the Lutece device and other inventions, notes on experiments, and most significant of all, transcripts of her original mores code conversations with Robert. Anything of importance that worked better in writing than recorded on a voxophone had been written down in that book. Rosalind pulled open the desk's left drawer and grabbed the book. It was a simple leather journal, with "R. Lutece" engraved on the front.

"Have you located the right tear?" She asked, leaning over the hole.

Robert held up his open hand, slowly lowering his fingers one by one in a countdown. Once his hand was closed, Robert flicked a switch on the side of the device and the half-formed tear in the center expanded to stable size.

"It should be only few months post my initial departure. It'll be as if I was never gone. Well, as if was gone just long enough to have met my  _lovely fiancée_." While Robert spoke, Rosalind had left their bedroom and was descending the stairs.

"Yes, and all your colleagues will marvel at how you seemingly aged sixteen years in those few months." Rosalind stepped in to the lab room with the journal held tightly at her side.

"Not everyone ages gracefully, dear Rosalind," Robert smirked.

"I certainly hope  _we_  do."

Rosalind approached the open tear, stopping when she stood next to Robert. They would go through together. Robert glanced over at her and noticed the journal.

"Is that?" He asked, referring to the section containing their conversations.

"Yes," Rosalind answered. "Even now memories of our travels are becoming muddled. I don't want to forget any more than is necessary."

Robert paused for a moment, narrowing his eyes while deep in thought. "There is no way to be certain how much we can retain… Perhaps we should each focus on a particular memory as we cross over. One memory that, above all others, we could not bear to forget. There's nothing to suggest such an act would work, but I feel it's worth a try."

"Indeed it is," Rosalind nodded. "I'd like to remember the moment we first made contact, with that first atom. That is by far the most important moment of our lives."

"I disagree." The Luteces stared at each other, Rosalind confused as how they could possibly disagree on this. "I want to remember the moment we truly met, in person." Robert smiled fondly at the memory. "I could not stop thinking at how beautiful am I as a woman."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, brother," Rosalind chided, blushing slightly.

"Come to think of it," Robert set the box and miniature Columbia down, then walked over the nearby couch. "I wish we could bring this couch with us."

"Why on Earth would you want it? That thing is dreadfully uncomfortable," Rosalind turned her nose up at the aforementioned piece of furniture.

"But think of all the wonderful moments we've shared on this couch," Robert said as he ran his hand over the seat. "Look, we've worn imprints into the cushions." He looked up at Rosalind. "I'm sure we have some time before anyone thinks to investigate the labs again. Perhaps we could…" His gaze darted between Rosalind and the couch. "For old time's sake? We would also be giving ourselves a head start on the second step of our plan."

Rosalind frowned. "Even if by chance we were to conceive on that couch, the trans-dimensional sickness I am sure to receive later would certainly kill any fertilized egg." She paused to think. "However, celebratory coitus as a toast to our new lives would be acceptable."

"No," Robert cringed and shook his head. "The thought of miscarriage has ruined any enthusiasm for such things."

Rosalind smirked. "Then let us depart."


	2. Proposes, Proposed, Will Propose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This first prompt came from TK_Purin and was "fluffy marriage proposal!"

The Luteces had chosen to make Robert's native reality their home, opening a tear leading to New York several months after he 'vanished'. This would be just the right amount of time for Robert to pass off his absence as a sojourn to England for family business, where he happened to meet his lovely fiancée Rosalind… they were still deciding on a surname for her.

Robert had gotten a job as an assistant professor at Columbia University, while Rosalind was bedridden from trans-dimensional sickness. Perhaps due to their previous quantum state, the effects weren't as strong on her as they had been on Robert when he crossed over to Columbia. Once Rosalind had recovered, she'd join Robert's teaching job and they would marry. Until then, they'd managed to repossess Robert's old home through cashing a stockpile of silver eagles they'd brought from Columbia. It was no Lutece Labs, but it was something.

They had considered passing themselves off as already wed upon arrival, but Robert thought official documentation would be helpful in the long run.

On Saturday three weeks after they first arrived, Rosalind lay in bed, leafing through a quantum physics textbook Robert had borrowed.

"Hmm, I can hardly believe how inaccurate these theories are," She scoffed. "Perhaps we should've chosen a more scientifically progressive time period?"

Robert was seated several feet away. He was looking through advertisements and address books for an inexpensive, no-questions-asked chapel. Neither of them wanted any sort of ceremony, just the documentation that would finally let them be seen as husband and wife by the world at large.

"It would be much more difficult to integrate into a world neither of us were from," He responded. Robert got up and kissed the top of Rosalind's head. "How're you feeling? Any better?"

"I haven't hemorrhaged in three days," Rosalind smiled, "By the end of next week, I am positive I shall be fully recovered."

"Don't push yourself too much, we have our whole lives ahead of us." Robert went back to his chair and resumed scanning the advertisement section of the daily paper. While looking through the ads, a thought popped into his head. One that he could not ignore.

"Rosalind, come to think of it," he began, "I never actually proposed to you, or you to me. And yet here I am planning a wedding." He smirked.

"We've long past the opportunity for such things."

Robert ignored the comment and stood up. "Yes, but it seems wrong not to do so. As if we are skipping a vital step."

"You're putting far too much thought into this. You want to marry me, I want to marry you, and thus we shall be wed. There is nothing else that needs to be discussed." Rosalind had no care for such petty displays of affection when they already perfectly understood the feelings of each other.

Robert had grabbed his coat and was leaving the bedroom.

"Where are you going?" Robert declined to answer. "Brother, do not do what I think you're going to do. You are  _not_  buying me an engagement ring!"

Robert had already left the room.

###

He returned two hours later, arms full of groceries. "If you're feeling up to it, I'm making dinner. I can bring it up here though if you'd prefer."

"That's fine, a little walking ought to help my constitution." Rosalind leaned back against the headboard in relief. She didn't  _not_  appreciate Robert's desire for traditional romance, but at the same time they couldn't afford to spend money on anything non-essential quite yet. Not until they were more established and Rosalind was healed, at least.

She carefully got out of bed, finding herself a little dizzy standing on two feet. It was better than being unable to stand due to a lack of blood though, so she staggered out of the bedroom and towards the kitchen.

There was a minor impediment in her journey she had forgotten to take into account: the stairs. Rosalind grimaced. She didn't want to have to call Robert for help getting down, but her unsteadiness presented a high risk of injury. Determination won out against fear and Rosalind gripped the banister with both hands. She stepped down with one foot, then the other.

It was slower going than normal, and Rosalind was panting with exhaustion by the end, but she reached the first floor.  _Ha, you'll be well in next to no time_ , she thought. After a momentary pause, Rosalind walked towards the kitchen. Much like the Lutece Labs, the stairs were located at the front door, so she had to turn around to reach it.

Rosalind entered the kitchen to see Robert down on one knee, a small box held tightly in his palm. She groaned.

"Rosalind, will you marry—"

"Yes; I will. We've already established that. Also we shouldn't be spending money on such frivolities."

Robert frowned. "I bought the cheapest one they had." He opened the box. Inside was a simple, silver ring lacking any other adornments. "Could you at least humor me?"

"Very well," Rosalind said. She took the ring and placed it on her ring finger. "Oh, yes, of course I'll marry you, you fool!" She threw her arms around Robert and kissed every inch of his face.

Robert smiled. He could tell Rosalind's enthusiasm wasn't an act, no matter how much she tried to pass it off as one. It helped too that she whispered "I love it, brother," into his ear.


	3. Maternity Leave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From anonymous, this prompt was "Lutece babies!"

_1894_

_New York City_

The door to the Lutece residence was shoved open, with a struggling Rosalind being pushed in by Robert.

"Of all the indignities! The nerve! Forced maternity leave! What, do they think I'm going to go into labor in the middle of a lecture?" Rosalind was livid. Robert was just trying to steer here to the front room without accidentally hitting her heavily gravid stomach against anything.

"It's just because if you stayed on and something happened to you, we'd have grounds for a lawsuit against them," Robert said, while settling Rosalind into the nearest chair. "Besides, it's only a few weeks until you're due. We can even hire a nanny if you want to get back to work immediately after they're born."

Rosalind calmed a bit, delighting herself with scenarios of suing the Columbia University faculty. Robert got on his knees and pressed the side of his face to her stomach.

"Hello little ones," He cooed. "Can you hear me?"

Rosalind sharply inhaled, and Robert looked up at her. "What's wrong?"

"I think they recognize your voice, brother." She answered in a strained voice.

"Really?"

"Yes. Whenever you try to speak to them, they kick me in the bladder." Rosalind frowned in mock-annoyance.

"Oh… sorry." Robert started to stand up.

"I didn't mean you should stop," Rosalind smiled at him. "It's a worthy sacrifice to ensure their prenatal enrichment."

Robert went back onto his knees and began to whisper various nothings into her stomach. Rosalind leaned back and closed her eyes. It was still hard to imagine that in a few short weeks, she and Robert would be parents. She was especially floored that they would be having twins. It had taken long enough for Robert to convince her  _one_  child was a good idea.

Then again, Rosalind was positive she would never forget the look of pure joy on Robert's face when he had first tried to listen for their child's heartbeat only to tell Rosalind in complete awe that he heard  _two_.

Rosalind was jarred from her thoughts as she heard Robert begin to sing.

" _Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream…_ "

"What are you doing?"

Robert jumped. "Oh, I… wasn't quite sure what to say to them." He scratched the back of his head and looked away.

Rosalind leaned her head down as close to her stomach as possible. " _Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream."_


	4. Delivery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This prompt came from anonymous and was "follow up to the pregnancy fic, rosalinds water breaks"

"Robert!" Rosalind called out from across the front room of their house. "I believe my water's broken!"

"That's wonderful!" Robert put down the scientific journal he'd been reading, then realized exactly what Rosalind had said. "Wait… Oh God! Oh God!" He ran over to Rosalind. She was breathing heavily, her right hand resting over her stomach.

"B-but, your due date is supposed to be tomorrow!" Robert's fingers were twitching with obvious anxiety. He continuously glanced around, trying to think of what to do next.

"I hardly think one day will make a difference in their health." Rosalind grit her teeth and groaned as a contraction shot through her body.

"The idea was that we would already be at the hospital," Robert said as he began to pace back and forth. "That way we'd be prepared, but it's happening now, I can't deliver a child!" Robert yelled. "We have to go!"

He put his arm around Rosalind's shoulder and began to steer her towards the front door.

"Are you mad? My undergarments are soaked amniotic fluid, I can't just walk to the hospital like thi-" She screamed as another contraction hit her.

"Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm," Robert chanted, directed more at his own emotional state that Rosalind's. "I'll get a taxi! Don't move!" He threw the door open and ran out into the street.  
"I doubt I could if I wanted to!" Rosalind called back. She leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor, her eyes scrunched in labor pain.

Robert stood in the middle of the street, waving madly while shouting "Taxi!" at the top of his lungs. A hackney carriage caught his eye. "Please stop! Taxi!" He ran to the carriage and grabbed hold of it.

The driver snapped the reigns, forcing the horse pulling the carriage to a halt.

"My wife is in labor!" Robert pointed back to the still open door of the Lutece residence. Before the driver could answer, Robert tossed all the change from his pocket at the carriage.

"Fine, just get your wife and-" Robert had already dashed back to the house and was pulling Rosalind through the door. The driver shrugged and pocketed what change hadn't fallen onto the street.

Robert returned to the carriage and lifted Rosalind into it. Once she was settled, he got in and pointed forward, nearly hitting the driver the process. "To the nearest hospital, quickly!"

###

Robert sat in the hospital's waiting room, glancing back and forth and the clock. It had only been fifteen minutes since they'd taken Rosalind away but it felt far longer. The doors into the hospital's patient areas opened and a nurse peeked her head out.

"Mr. Lutece?"

Robert stood up, and stiffed his posture, trying to act composed rather than as a nervous wreck. "Yes? Is everything all right?"

"Actually you need to come back here. Your wife is refusing to cooperate unless you're there."

Wordlessly, Robert followed the nurse into the hall. They came to the delivery room, the nurse holding the door open for Robert. He stepped inside and gasped. Despite Rosalind's apparent refusal to cooperate, things were progressing. He believed the term was that the baby had "crowned" and could not decide whether to be horrified or in awe.

He averted his gaze from actual birthing and walked to Rosalind, resting his hand on her shoulder. "I'm here, Rosalind."

Rosalind grabbed his free and stared up at Robert. She scowled. "You! You did this to me you bastard! I hate you Robert! I hate you!" Rosalind screamed, tightening her grip on Robert's hand until it made an unpleasant cracking sound.

"I love you too, dear." Robert patted her on the shoulder with his other hand.

Rosalind's anger was reduced to incoherent screams as her contractions increased.

"One more push, ma'am." The doctor leaned closer. Rosalind let out a final screech and the doctor pulled away with an infant in his hands. "It's a girl!"

While the doctor severed the baby's umbilical cord, Rosalind leaned back into the hospital bed, utterly exhausted.  _A 'Big Sister'_ , Robert mused. He tried not to dwell on the thought too long, as focusing too much on their quantum travels could provoke an attack of dimension sickness. Now was not the time to start hemorrhaging.

"One down, one to go." Robert smiled. Rosalind's face darkened at the prospect, but was soon distracted by the next set of contractions as her new daughter's twin began his entry into the world.


	5. Our Greatest Work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a birthday present for autisticluteces, whose works have inspired me greatly in fanfic writing. Their prompt was "how about rob and rosa right after the kids are born. rosa is tired but happy and they're admiring their babies."

"A boy and a girl, the universe must have a sense of irony." Rosalind ignored Robert's comment, too exhausted to do anything but stare at the two newborns swaddled in her arms.

"I hope that twins will satisfy your biological urge, brother. I'm  _not_  doing that ever again," Rosalind quipped.

Robert shushed her, glancing around nervously. "Oh calm down. The doctor's been gone since he handed me them back."

"Ah, I hadn't noticed," Robert tugged at his collar. "I couldn't take my eyes off… May- may I hold them?"

Rosalind held the twins up for Robert to take hold of. Once he did, she let her arms fall to their sides, eager to rest them. Robert cradled the infants close.

"Hello little ones," Robert's voice caught in his throat, his eyes getting rather misty, "I'm your father." The twins were both asleep, the birth having taken as much out of them as it had Rosalind. One, with the blankets covering both Robert couldn't be sure which, opened their eyes for a brief moment. The irises were bright blue, matching well with the covering of orange fuzz on the top of their heads.

"They have my eyes and your hair," Robert said.

"Are you mad? They have your hair and my eyes." The two couldn't hold back and chuckled.

"Thank you, Rosalind. They're…"

"Perfect, yes." Rosalind answered. "I'm sorry, but, could I have them back now. It's so odd, after nine months sharing a body with them, to have them be apart from me."

With a little reluctance, Robert handed the twins back to her. "And thank you, as well. I never thought I'd say this about a living thing, but, they truly are our greatest work."

Robert leaned forward and kissed Rosalind on the forehead.


	6. My Pal, Elizabeth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This prompt comes from "cassiopeium" and was "Hey! I know this prompt is more OC-centric, so what about the Lutece kids and Anna having wacky shenanigans? Like during childhood they invent an elaborate game with their imagination? Or when they're teenagers, one of them plans out a party while their parents are away and it spirals out of control? (okay that one's really outlandish omg you don't have to answer this right away feel free to ask me to elaborate! :D )"
> 
> This is also the first of these prompts which takes place entirely after Robert & Rosalind are Dead, being set roughly a year after the final scene in R&RaD.

"Anna, where did you learn how do to that?" Ronald Lutece gasped.

Anna DeWitt, age nine, had somehow managed to take a stray hairpin and use it to unlock the door to Lutece residence's 'off-limits' room. Ronald and Rosamond's parents had always said it was where they kept experiments far too dangerous for children to be around, but of course that only made them want to go inside even more.

The twins had only offhandedly mentioned that to Anna when she came over to play. Now they were on the brink of actually going inside.

"Elizabeth taught me," Anna answered. She stuck her tongue out in concentration to remove the hairpin without damaging it or the lock.

"I didn't teach you anything! Besides, nobody's allowed to call me that." Rosamond crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. She didn't like liars, mother always said that liars falsified data and then your experiments would never be completed.

"Not you, Rosa, this is a friend I have whose really named Elizabeth. Not a middle name like yours."

"Oh, can we meet here?" Ronald's eyes widened. Anyone who taught how to pick locks was worth meeting. They must know all sorts of wonderful information that his parents wouldn't talk about, like where babies come from.

Anna averted her eyes from the twins. "Well, I don't think so." She pushed open the door. "Let's just see what's in here."

"And  _why_  can't we meet her?" Rosamond leaned in closer to Anna.

"Even I can't meet her like, in person," Anna raised her palms up in surrender. "She's… it's like… I remember being her but I don't think I was… It's weird."

Rosamond smiled. "Oh, I get it!"

"You do?" Ronald was looked between them, slow on the uptake.

"She has an imaginary friend, brother."

"Elizabeth is  _not_  imaginary!" Anna stamped her foot.

"Exactly what someone with an imaginary friend would say," Rosamond smirked.

"Sister, should we be so quick to judge?" Ronald smiled at Anna. "Maybe she's right?" Anna looked away and blushed.

"Enough of this! If Elizabeth is real, we need to prove it like mother and father would," Rosamond raised her index finger matter-of-factly. "With science!"

"We can use your parents' special lab room!" Anna motioned towards the opened door. The three had nearly forgotten about it in their debate over 'Elizabeth'.

The room was pitch black on the inside. Ronald groped along the wall and found a light switch. The lights flickered on, revealing rows of shelves covered in strange objects. Some were empty, triangular bottles labeled "Lutece Labs," others were broken machinery.

"Hmm," Ronald mused. "This must be where they keep their failed experiments."

Anna went over to a table and picked up a glass container with a floating miniature city inside. "Look at this! It's the weirdest snow globe I've ever seen!"

"How does that building float?" Rosamond leaned closer to the 'snow globe' and inspected the building.

"Elizabeth knows about floating buildings! She shows me them sometimes, when I'm remembering being her."

"That  _is_  odd," Ronald said.

"Children," a male voice called from below. "What are you doing up there? I hope you're not where I think you are."

Anna dropped the snow globe, which shattered on impact with the floor. The various buildings of the miniature city floated upwards before stopping at the room's ceiling. The three rushed out of the off-limits room, shoving the door closed behind them. Footsteps started up by the bottom of the stairs, and the children froze.

Ronald looked over to Anna. "What if we asked father about Elizabeth? He knew about the buildings?"

"You can't!" Anna whisper-shouted back. "Grown-ups can't know about her. I tried to tell my dad about Elizabeth once, and he got a bad headache and his nose bled everywhere! It was really scary."

The footsteps grew closer, and Robert Lutece rounded the corner. "They you are. What are you doing near that room?"

Anna, Ronald and Rosamond froze in guilt for a moment, then broke out into laughter. "What? Is there something wrong?"

"Father," Rosamond managed to force out between giggles. "Where are you eyebrows?"

Robert ran his palm over his forehead and frowned when he felt nothing but smooth skin where his eyebrows should have been. "Oh dear."

"I… need to go warn your mother that our newest infusion has some… side effects," Robert turned to leave. "And please stay out of that room."

"Why is my middle name Elizabeth?" Rosamond asked. Robert stopped mid step.

"Because… it's a very nice name," Robert's eyes darted from side to side. "Perhaps you three should come with me. Your mother's eyebrows have probably fallen out by now, and after that situation is addressed I'll make you all some lunch."

The idea of lunch was enough to distract the kids from their line of questioning, for a short while, at least. They followed Robert down the stairs.


	7. The Patron Saint of Bees

_1897_

_Columbia_

The chalk snapped in Rosalind's hand halfway through an equation on wavefunction for the Lutece Device. She sighed and dropped the two pieces of chalk. Rosalind reached for more chalk but her hand came back empty.

"Brother? Have you taken all the chalk?" Rosalind looked around. Robert had been unusually quiet for the past thirty minutes or so. Now there was no sign of him. "Robert?"

She stepped out from the lab and into the living room. Robert was still nowhere to be seen. Rosalind crossed her arms and stopped to think. Robert had not mentioned leaving, but then again, she had paid little attention to anything but her equations for the past half hour. Perhaps he had left and she was too preoccupied to listen?

Before Rosalind could wonder any further, a pair of arms snaked around her midsection. The right hand had a bouquet of roses which were then shoved at Rosalind's face.

"Happy Valentine's Day, dear Rosalind," Robert whispered into her ear. Rosalind clasped the bouquet, pulling it from Robert's hands. She then wiggled out from his grasp to turn and face him.

"Did you take my chalk?"

Robert frowned. "I think there are more immediate things to dwell on."

Rosalind lowered her head and sniffed the roses. They were fresh. She set them down on the nearest table. "I don't mean to ignore them. I'm just rather frustrated over this missing chalk, and I fail to see why such blatant declarations of affection are important when the other knows their feelings perfectly well to begin with."

"One would make such blatant declarations because it is St. Valentine's Day," Robert said. "The patron saint of love, after all."

"Saint Valentine was also the patron saint of bees. Does that mean you are going to get me an apiary?" Rosalind quipped.

"Perhaps. I hadn't pegged as the beekeeping sort, however." Robert smirked.

Rosalind placed her hands on Robert's shoulders and leaned upward to kiss him. "Thank you for the roses, brother. They're quite lovely." She then turned and whispered into Robert's ear, "Now, what did you do with my chalk?"

_1905_

_New York_

Rosalind could tell by heat of the sun on her skin and the light breeze that she was outside, but nothing else. The blindfold she had on was surprisingly good at blocking out light. Robert had her right hand clasped in his, guiding her somewhere.

"Will you please tell me what's going on? At least tell me why you've blindfolded me yet I remain fully clothed."

Robert stopped dead in his tracks. "The children are present." He whispered through clenched teeth.

Before Ronald or Rosamond Lutece could even finish opening their mouths, Robert said "I'll explain at a much, much, later date." The twins stared up at their father and each raised an eyebrow.

"We might as well take your blindfold off now," Robert said. Ronald and Rosamond lost interest in their mother's previous comment and waited with baited breath while Robert undid the blindfold.

Rosalind blinked, then rubbed her at her eyes while they adjusted to the sunlight. They were outside the city, near a wooded area. Directly in front of her was a chain link fence. Behind the fence were row upon row of squat, white and grey boxes. Rosalind leaned forward a bit and was able to pick up a faint buzzing sound from up ahead.

"Rosalind, children, I present to you an apiary." Robert gestured to the fenced off area before them. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"What?"

The twins ran up to Rosalind and hugged her tightly. "Happy Valentine's Day, mother!"

"Saint Valentine is the patron saint of bees, after all." Robert smirked.

Rosalind smiled while returning Ronald and Rosamond's hugs.

"Father said you taught him that a long time ago," Rosamond said.

"Yes, I think I did." She looked over at Robert, a smug grin on both of their faces.

"Alright. Is everyone ready to discover something about bees?" Robert asked. The twins nodded eagerly and ran for the fence. Robert and Rosalind followed.

Ronald stopped short, looking back at his parents. "Wait," he asked, "Won't the bees sting us?"

Robert's smile faded as if he had not considered this prospect before. "On second thought, let's make sure to keep a fair distance from the actual hives."


	8. In-Laws

_1912_

"He looks at her the way you look at me, brother."

"Yes, and she looks at him as you look at me, dear Rosalind."

"Considering who she is,"

"Who she was, you mean?"

"Semantics. As I was saying, she is already like a daughter to us."

"She's not Elizabeth."

"She's close enough."

"True. Annabelle Lutece does sound rather nice, don't you think?"

"Oh."

"What?"

"I just realized. We'd be in-laws with DeWitt…"

"He's a… marginally… improved DeWitt from what he could have been, in no small part thanks to our machinations."

"He still eats out of the garbage when business is slow."

"…Why do you know that?"

"Is it wrong to gather information on the immediate family of the woman who will likely become our daughter-in-law?"

"Not when one phrases it as such."


	9. Listen Closely

“You’ll have to apply actual pressure, or this exercise will be pointless.” Rosalind lay on her and Robert’s bed, her chemise pulled up to leave her rapidly growing stomach exposed.

“Should you feel any discomfort, tell me immediately.”

“For the last time, brother. I’m pregnant, not on my deathbed. You’re not going to hurt me with a device that’s use is intended for this situation.”

Robert gripped the Pinard horn and pressed it against Rosalind’s stomach. “I don’t hear anything.”

“It could be anywhere within the confines of my womb. Try another spot.”

Determined not to miss the sound of his child’s heartbeat, Robert dragged the horn across Rosalind’s belly from left to right. Next he began to try different elevations as well. Near the center he caught a faint fluttering noise but was already moving onward at the time.

Robert froze and tried to return to spot he’d swore he’d heard something, but stopped at another area along the way. Rosalind watched in puzzlement and he switched back and forth from two areas.

“What is it? Is something wrong?”

“Two.”

Rosalind leaned forward and arched her eyebrow. “Two what?”

Robert looked up at her, eyes wide and grinning from ear to ear. “Heartbeats, Rosalind. I heard _two_   _heartbeats_.”

Rosalind let her head fall back onto the pillow beneath her, smiling. “I suppose its inevitable they’ll be a boy and a girl.”

“I could kiss you right now.”

“That’s a ridiculous expression. Either kiss me or don’t.” He did. 


	10. Paternal Jealousy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Father's Day!

Rosamond and Ronald Lutece had been given clean bills of health, had their birth certificates finalized, and were now settling in for their first meal. Robert stood off to the side of the hospital bed while a nurse instructed Rosalind on how to breastfeed.

Once the nurse had left, Robert moved to take her place at Rosalind's side. He placed his hand on Rosalind's shoulder and stared down at the twins cradled in her arms, each happily suckling away.

"I must admit," Robert said, turning his gaze back to Rosalind, "I'm more than a little jealous."

"Well, once they're done nothing's stopping you," Rosalind quipped.

"What? No-, I meant," Robert's cheeks flushed to a bright red, "I'm a little jealous that you are able to feed them."

"Unless you plan on growing mammary glands, you'll just have to think of it as a trade off for the agony of pushing these two out of a opening not even half their size."

Robert winced, the memories of Rosalind's face wracked in pain not too long ago floating in his mind.

"Of course, taking the reward into account," Rosalind leaned her head against Robert's midsection, " I wouldn't trade the experience for anything in the world."


End file.
